On 15th June the UK government published raft wording for its new “presumption in favour of sustainable development” approach to planning.
Under the presumption, proposals in line with local plans will be approved “without delay”, the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) said. The presumption will also mean that:
- Communities and councils will be obliged to keep up-to-date plans and to plan “positively” for sustainable development.
- If councils do not have a current plan in place, decisions will be made according to national policy
- Developers - including Self Builders - will have more certainty over what can be built and where, thus encouraging them to bring forward more proposals and reduce the number of appeals.
- Development will not be permitted if it conflicts with the safeguards contained within the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)
The draft wording of the presumption has been published ahead of the consultation on the NPPF in July.
